Are more Colorado voters than usual holding onto their ballots until Election Day? Some clerks think so.

By Jon Murray

The Denver Post

Posted:
11/08/2016 06:26:32 AM MST

In-person voting for Cañon City residents moved to the Garden Park Building, 201 N. Sixth Street, across from the Fremont County Administration Building, after the elevator in the administration building broke down. (Sarah Matott / Daily Record)

The combination of lengthy ballots in Colorado and voters dropping them off later than expected in some counties could make for late results on Election Night — or even Wednesday, in close races.

Slow counting could even prolong uncertainty if the race for Colorado's presidential electoral votes is close between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

Clerks in counties ranging from Colorado Springs' El Paso to suburban Denver's Douglas to Greeley's Weld were among those who said voters appeared to be holding on to their ballots longer than usual this year. And Denver and Boulder counties, which typically count overnight anyway because of higher-than-average Election Day turnout, both expect the same to recur again.

While turnout was brisk Monday, some clerks were bracing for a crush of Election Day drop-offs and in-person voting at drop boxes and voting centers, with lines of cars more likely than people. But that's coupled with a measure of unpredictability surrounding the first presidential election conducted under Colorado's model of mailing ballots to all active voters.

Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly Koppes, who worried last week about being overwhelmed by final-day voters, said she's now a bit more optimistic.

"As of right now, we're over 50 percent" turnout among active voters, Koppes said, notching closer to the 60 percent that she considers normal by the day before a presidential election. The county's typical final turnout is 90 percent or higher.

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"That makes me feel a lot more comfortable going into tomorrow," she said. "We are seeing a steady stream of people coming in and dropping off their ballots at our (voting centers)."

As of 4 p.m. Monday, an analysis of state data from Republican-aligned firm Magellan Strategies showed ballot returns had surpassed 2 million. If 2012's turnout — 71 percent of registered voters — recurred, that would mean another 620,000 or so ballots were still to come.

Not all counties are behind projections for ballot returns. In suburban Denver's Jefferson County, for one, high-interest races are driving slightly higher-than-expected ballot returns so far.

But El Paso Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman said he heard plenty of angst about slower-than-expected returns and what that might portend for Election Day on a conference call of clerks across the state last week.

He has theories about why voters are taking their time, beyond a lack of enthusiasm about historically unpopular presidential choices.

On ballots that are often four pages or longer, including initiatives and judicial retention questions, "I think people are waiting to get that additional piece of information so they can make the most informed choice," Broerman said. "I think people are being very judicious in how they cast their vote this election. ... That's contributing to being a day or two behind where we usually are" in returns.

A half-dozen election offices reached by The Denver Post on Monday said they were prepared with staffing and equipment for what nonetheless promises to be a long day and night. Denver hired 700 temporary workers for the election this year and has upgraded its ballot-scanning equipment since the last major election.

In Denver, El Paso, Douglas and Jefferson counties, the offices aim to process all ballots received by Monday night well ahead of polls closing at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Jefferson anticipates being done counting most ballots by the early morning hours, but other counties may work through the night — or, as they have done before, send election judges home for rest, resuming counting later Wednesday morning.

Still, El Paso's Broerman said he expects 90 percent or more of his county's ballots will be counted by late Tuesday.

Denver election officials, who expect to take longer, said most voters who drop off their ballots on Election Day do so after 5 p.m. With 90,000 to 100,000 ballots expected Tuesday, that will complicate attempts to count quickly once polls close.

Mail ballots come with a trade-off: Some of the processing that used to occur before a voter received a ballot, such as verifying the signature, now occurs upon receipt. And this time, counties must process two ballot cards (both double-sided), instead of one, because of the ballot's length.

"We need to balance efficiency and accuracy," said Amber McReynolds, Denver's elections director. "We want to make sure that when we put up unofficial results that we've done all the steps prior to that — to make sure that all the accounting's right and that the accuracy is right."

Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Merlin Klotz said the mail-ballot system offers more security and more safeguards, even if counting can take longer in fast-growing areas.

"With this paridigm, it takes more time than it does with polling places," he said. "But our result is so much better."

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